Canned Hunting

As I scrolled through my Twitter account earlier today I noticed a post from Steven Rinella – American writer, hunter and outdoorsman -- about canned hunting.  Canned hunting is a form of hunting where the animal being hunted is actually confined to an enclosure by a fence.  Usually these enclosures are owned by an individual or company and will sell animals to hunt to individuals.  Hunting, like many other sports, has its own share of controversy.  But canned hunting is a huge controversy within the hunting community itself. 

The animals hunted in canned hunting areas aren’t wild, many consider them to be domesticated.  These animals can be raised by the owners of the land and then let loose for a length of time and hunted when there is a buyer.  By doing this the animal is taken from its natural habitat and thrown into an ecosystem that does not give it a fair advantage against a hunter.  Not only that but the people paying to hunt them are also driven out to the animals location.  Where is the "hunt" in that type of situation?  After the buyer, as i like to call them instead of hunters, kill their pray they can be taken back to the lodge and wait for their meal.  Where in real hunting after a hunter stalks his or her prey for hours they then have to field dress the animal and carry it out.

In the add posted by Steven the seller offers the Bull Elk for " $2,900. OBO." That right there is disgusting.  Selling an animal for hunting purposes is disappointing enough, but offering a Bull Elk or any animal for OBO is down right degrading.  Every animal hunted and killed deserves the respect of the hunter and the community.  Fair chase is an ethics guideline that many hunters go by and many don't.  Fair chase means when i'm out hunting and a dove lands on the fence near me I don't shoot it just sitting there ill wait till it pops up to fly away giving it a fair advantage.